A varied 10km route on good paths through some lovely countryside with great views from the top of Neilston pad.
The walk marked in blue is just under 10km long and will take around 2.5 to 3 hours to walk. It starts at a parking lay-by opposite a single wind-turbine, about one and a half kilometres south of Neilston.
The walk starts around a loch and heads up Neilston pad, a volcanic plug with fantastic panoramic views on top. It then takes farm tracks to Neilston village, where a stop for coffee is possible, and then takes a walk through Green Belt at the edge of the vilage before taking a path following the Levern water south until you can walk back to the car.
The route can also start and finish at the Neilston Train station
I created this route on the Ordanance Survey App. To see the route on the App or in a map on your screen
If you use a mapping app you can download this route to your app. To get the GPX file click below.
Getting to the start
The route as described starts at a lay-by a kilometer and a half south of the village but the route passes Neilston Train station which has regular trains from Glasgow Central Station taking 30 minutes.
Public Transport
Neilston Train station has trains every 30 minutes and is the terminus station.
Information on the train schedule is on the Scotrail Website
Other Information
Neilston
The village of Neilston grew up around the textile industry of calico and cotton processing in the 17th Century. The largest of the Mills, Crofthead Mill, was established in 1792 and only closed for business in the 1990s.
The Route
Please use the GPX files and a maps app, or a paper map when taking this route. The description below is not intended to be used without a map!
Start at the lay-by next to Craighall Dam and walk down towards the loch. There is a path that will take you over the dam at the north end to join a track along the east side of the loch.
Follow the track through the woods and, just after it joins another track, turn left and then head up the hill along a break between the forestry. This may be very wet and muddy, in which case you can go under the trees which is drier.
This will take you out on a path up the hill you take you towards the copse on the top of Neilston pad. The path has views in all directions toward Tinto Hill in the south, and to the Campsies in the north.
From the top head northward and take the path between these fence posts
Follow the narrow path which will take you through the woods and along a fence line to descend the hill.
At the bottom you meet a farm track and turn left towards the farm. Walk past the gates to the farmyard and take the track that leads straight ahead (don’t turn left). This track will take you to the edge of Neilston
Walk through Neilston, Crossing the railway at the station and and find your way to a narrow path between hedges that starts at the end of Low Broadlie Road.
The fields at the edge of Neilston are criss-crossed with paths and follow paths southwards, keeping the village on the left
You will pass close to Crofthead Mill, now abandoned, but for two centuries, the main employer in Neilston.
Crossing the road find your way to the paths that is at the very end of Millview Terrace. It doesnt look like it is there until you are almost upon it
But then you will see the little gate which will take you through more fields until you are at the edge of the village.
The path continues along a lovely footpath which eventually takes you over this bridge, after crossing turn left
and head towards the footpath along the Levern Water
The path continues along the Levern, taking you under an old railway bridge
you cross another country road and finish the walk through an area which is labelled a community woodland (but with very old signage)
Finish the walk turning left along the minor road and a final dangerous walk along 200m of the busy Kingston road back to the start.
More Walks
we are gradually writing up more walks in Green Belts around Scotland –
